EXCLUSIVE: MTA to reduce Q54 bus service

The MTA plans to reduce service to the Q54, which serves as the branch to train stations for many residents.

While the MTA has planned fare increases for 2015, the agency will decrease service for the Q54.

The bus, which travels on Metropolitan Avenue through train-scarce Middle Village and Ridgewood, connects riders to transit hubs in downtown Jamaica on one end, and Williamsburg, Brooklyn on the other.

During weekday “PM peak” hours—from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.—the Q54 will now run every six minutes and 30 seconds, instead of every five minutes, according to notes from the MTA’s January Transit & Bus Committee Meeting. During the evening schedule, which follows “PM peak” hours, the Q54 will run every 20 minutes instead of every 15.

The planned cuts didn’t sit well with riders.

“It’s slow as it is. I don’t think they send enough (buses). When I get off the train there are a lot of people that wait with me,” said Middle Village resident Jeanette Marmol, who takes the bus to connect to the M train when commuting to work in Manhattan. “That doesn’t make sense. This is a really long route. Why would they slow it down?”

In April, 49 buses citywide—eight in Queens—will see changes, which will account for a slight increase in overall service, Kevin Ortiz, an MTA spokesperson said.

Of the eight Queens buses that will be impacted, the Q54 is the only one that will see an overall reduction. The MTA plans to add a one-minute speed increase between buses during the Q54’s “AM peak” hours of 6 a.m. to 10 a.m.

“These changes are made to provide the most efficient and effective service possible and reflect changes in ridership patterns,” Ortiz said.